Steve got into the wilderness with wilderness ranger Sharon Barfknecht, and district ranger Gabe Garcia. They met at the Lytle Creek Ranger Station, and then day-hiked from the Middle Fork trailhead. They hiked a few miles up the canyon of the middle fork of Lytle Creek.

There's another trailhead on the west side in the Angeles National Forest. This trailhead is in Ice House Canyon. It's a much more popular way to access the Cucamonga Wilderness.

More about Drug Cultivation in National Parks

Illegal marijuana cultivation within Sequoia National Park, for instance… has had serious consequences on the safety of park staff and visitors, the experiences of visitors, and the park’s already-tight budget,” NPCA Central Valley Program Manager Laura Whitehouse testified before the Parks Subcommittee of the House Resources Committee. “The parks are in desperate need of increased backcountry patrols, and helicopter time to patrol and conduct surveillance of these hard-to-find growing areas. Without further investigation of marijuana activities within the parks, park resources—as well as visitors and park rangers—are in danger.”

It's interesting that the NPCA testified before congress on this issue on the same day we issued our edition on the subject.

Thu, Nov 17, 2005

Restoring a Park Gone to Pot

This outings program takes us to California's first state park, Big Basin Redwoods. We explore the problems caused by a five-acre marijuana plantation hidden in the park's backcountry, and follow the volunteer group who provided considerable labor to clean it up.

Marijuana cultivation is a growing problem in public lands, especially in the Pacific west. Marijuana demand is increasing, our borders are tightening, and budgets for managing our public lands are being cut. National Parks, National Forests, and State Parks are increasingly attractive to organized crime for use as cultivation sites.

You can help in two ways: 1) By refusing to fund the black market for marijuana production, and 2) by volunteering for or donating to volunteer organizations who provide labor to restore these damaged ecosystems.